Just finished watching the game on replay. Impressive and surprising to see the guys come back with Obekpa out.
Do NOT count me in the "they played hard" crowd. It is year 5 with juniors and seniors. You either win the game or you don't win the game. We "played hard" and "fought" last year vs. Cuse, vs. Nova, @ Nova, and @ Creighton in similar fashion and lost them all. Gotta win the games. This is not CYO basketball and we shouldn't be giving out participation medals.
The officiating was poor and we got the short end of it down the stretch for the most part but ya know what? We got a TON of calls in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half vs. Minnesota that helped us chip away at that lead, come back and win that game. It evened itself out here.
Dom played well again, all because he is FINALLY playing to his strengths and it looks like the staff has put him in a position he should be playing in.
The staff needs to re-calibrate Rysheed's thinking as he drives the basketball but he also shouldn't be handcuffed. He needs his head up, on a swivel, and to make the smart play. However I do love his aggressiveness and ultimately we need that to use our quickness and make up for our lack of front court. He made some really boneheaded decisions but I think if staff can help him get his mind right he'll be better.
I think D'Lo's shooting along with our poor FT shooting will improve honestly. Mightve been caused by our guys pressing a bit. Also hoping that Phil's finally-.500 game from the field will get him going after an abysmal shooting start to the year.
As for the attendance, you have to win in this town to get people out. And beating a mid-to-latter Big Ten team in Minnesota doesn't qualify as a big win to generate buzz. If we beat a few known good teams and THEN still don't get fan support, we can then gripe. But again, gotta win the games.